DOI 10.1515/mammalia-2013-0089 Mammalia 2014; 78(3): 405–408 Short Note Lázaro Guevara, Consuelo Lorenzo, Stephanie Ortega-García and Víctor Sánchez-Cordero* Noteworthy records of an endemic shrew from Mexico (Mammalia, Soricomorpha, Cryptotis griseoventris), with comments on taxonomy Abstract: The broad-clawed shrew Cryptotis griseoven- tris Jackson, 1933, is poorly known ecologically and behaviorally because distributional records are rela- tively scarce. Here, we provide new records based on 11 specimens deposited in mammal collections, more than 50 years since the last confirmed record. Historical records and specimens are reexamined and discussed. We suggest that C. griseoventris occurs in a small area ( < 5000 km 2 ) above 2100 m dominated by pine oak and cloud forests in Los Altos de Chiapas, Mexico, and is likely endangered due to habitat deforestation. We also describe the humerus, a useful structure to delimit spe- cies and reconstruct phylogenetic relationships within the genus Cryptotis. The morphology of their humerus corroborates its taxonomic relatedness with the Cryp- totis goldmani species group and yields a more compre- hensive knowledge of the ecology and evolution within this group. Keywords: Central America; Cryptotis griseoventris; Euli- potyphla; highlands; small-eared shrews; Soricidae. *Corresponding author: Víctor Sánchez-Cordero, Instituto de Biología, Departamento de Zoología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Apartado Postal 70-153, 04510 México, Distrito Federal, Mexico, e-mail: victor@ib.unam.mx Lázaro Guevara: Instituto de Biología, Departamento de Zoología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Apartado Postal 70-153, 04510 México, Distrito Federal, Mexico; and Posgrado en Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Av. Ciudad Universitaria 3000, C.P. 04360, Coyoacán, Distrito Federal, Mexico Consuelo Lorenzo: Departamento Conservación de la Biodiversidad, El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Unidad San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Carretera Panamericana y Periférico Sur, 29290, San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico Stephanie Ortega-García: Instituto de Biología, Departamento de Zoología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Apartado Postal 70-153, 04510 México, Distrito Federal, Mexico With nearly 35 species, shrews (Eulipotyphla, Soricidae) account for 7% of terrestrial mammals in Mexico, but basic information about geographical distribution and natural history is limited (Ramírez-Pulido et al. 2005, Carraway 2007). In addition, few museum specimens and scarce distributional records for several species make it difficult to assess this component of soricid communities in Central America (Cervantes et al. 2008). One of these cases is Cryptotis griseoventris Jackson, 1933 a member of the Cryptotis goldmani species group (Woodman and Timm, 1999), commonly known as broad-clawed shrews (Woodman 2010). This group is characterized by modifi- cations of the forelimb that include massive humeri with enlarged processes and elongated and broadened fore- claws (Woodman 2010, 2011a). Until recently, this broad- clawed shrew was known to occur in high-elevation forests dominated by pine and fir- and oak-dominated cloud forests from Mexico and Guatemala (Goldman 1951, Woodman and Timm 1999). Cryptotis griseoventris has been known from nine specimens obtained by E.W. Nelson and E.A. Goldman in 1895 in San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico (National Museum of Natural History, USNM 75886– 75894) and one specimen collected by Francis L. Burnett in 1956 at 9.6 km SE of the same locality (Harvard Uni- versity, MCZ 48061; Figure 1). Another series was origi- nally collected in Todos Santos Cuchumatán in Sierra de los Cuchumatanes, Guatemala, in 1894–1895 (Woodman and Timm 1999); however, these specimens were recently recognized as a new species, Cryptotis mam Woodman 2010 (Figure 1). In addition, Carraway (2007) identified four specimens from owl pellets collected in Kagchiná Volcano, 3.5 km N of Las Margaritas, Chiapas (Museum of the High Plains, Fort Hays State University, MHP 8779). However, these specimens may be referred to as Cryptotis merriami Choate, 1970 (Choate 1970, Woodman and Timm 1993, Woodman 2011b). An additional recent record con- sists of two specimens collected in Yaxchilán, Chiapas, in a lowland area named Selva Lacandona (Museo de Brought to you by | UNAM Authenticated | 10.248.254.158 Download Date | 8/20/14 4:03 PM